Coordinated forward link blanking and power boosting for flexible bandwidth systems

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices are provided for coordinating forward link blanking and/or power boosting in wireless communications systems. Some embodiments include two or more bandwidth systems. The bandwidth of one bandwidth system may overlap with the bandwidth of another bandwidth system. This overlap may create interference. Coordinating forward link blanking and/or power boosting may aid in reducing the impact of this interference. Some embodiments utilize flexible bandwidth and/or normal bandwidth systems. Flexible bandwidth systems may utilize portions of spectrum that may not be big enough to fit a normal waveform, though some embodiments may utilize flexible waveforms that utilize more bandwidth than a normal waveform.

CROSS-RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application for patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 61/556,777 entitled “FRACTIONAL SYSTEMS IN WIRELESSCOMMUNICATIONS” filed Nov. 7, 2011, and assigned to the assignee hereofand hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. The presentapplication for patent also claims priority to Provisional ApplicationNo. 61/568,742 entitled “SIGNAL CAPACITY BOOSTING, COORDINATED FORWARDLINK BLANKING AND POWER BOOSTING, AND REVERSE LINK THROUGHPUT INCREASINGFOR FLEXIBLE BANDWIDTH SYSTEMS” filed Dec. 9, 2011, and assigned to theassignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-accesssystems capable of supporting communication with multiple users bysharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, andpower). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-divisionmultiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA)systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP LongTerm Evolution (LTE) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multipleaccess (OFDMA) systems.

Service providers are typically allocated blocks of frequency spectrumfor exclusive use in certain geographic regions. These blocks offrequencies are generally assigned by regulators regardless of themultiple access technology being used. In most cases, these blocks arenot integer multiple of channel bandwidths, hence there may beunutilized parts of the spectrum. As the use of wireless devices hasincreased, the demand for and value of this spectrum has generallysurged, as well. Nonetheless, in some cases, wireless communicationssystems may not utilize portions of the allocated spectrum because theportions are not big enough to fit a standard or normal waveform. Thedevelopers of the LTE standard, for example, recognized the problem anddecided to support 6 different system bandwidths, namely 1.4, 3, 5, 10,15 and 20 MHz. This may provide one partial solution to the problem. Inaddition, the different system bandwidths typically do not overlap,which may help avoid interference.

SUMMARY

Methods, systems, and devices are provided for coordinating forward linkblanking and/or power boosting in wireless communications systems. Someembodiments include two or more bandwidth systems. The bandwidth of onebandwidth system may overlap with the bandwidth of another bandwidthsystem. This overlap may create interference. Coordinating forward linkblanking and/or power boosting may aid in reducing the impact of thisinterference. Some embodiments utilize flexible bandwidth and/or normalbandwidth systems.

Flexible bandwidth waveforms for wireless communications systems mayutilize portions of spectrum that may not be big enough to fit a normalwaveform utilizing flexible waveforms. A flexible bandwidth system maybe generated with respect to a normal bandwidth system through dilating,or scaling down, the time or the chip rate of the flexible bandwidthsystem with respect to the normal bandwidth system. Some embodiments mayincrease the bandwidth of a waveform through expanding, or scaling up,the time or the chip rate of the flexible bandwidth system.

Some embodiments include a method of reducing interference within awireless communications system. The method may include: identifying afirst carrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps a secondcarrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system; and/orcoordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth.

The method of reducing interference within the wireless communicationssystem may include increasing a power of transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth during the coordinated transmission blanking over thefirst carrier bandwidth. Coordinating the transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth further may includedetermining a timing of a control transmission over the second carrierbandwidth and coordinating the transmission blanking based on thedetermined timing of the control channel transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth. Coordinating the transmission blanking on the forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth further may include determining adata transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. Coordinating thetransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth may occur during the data transmission over the second carrierbandwidth.

The method of reducing interference within the wireless communicationssystem may include changing the coordinated transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidths based on at least a timeof day. The method of reducing interference within the wirelesscommunications system may include changing the coordinated transmissionblanking on the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidths based on atleast a loading of the forward link.

In some embodiments, at least the first carrier bandwidth or the secondcarrier bandwidth is a flexible carrier bandwidth. In some embodiments,the first carrier bandwidth and the second carrier bandwidth are normalcarrier bandwidths. The first carrier bandwidth may fully overlap thesecond carrier bandwidth.

The coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidthand the concurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth mayoccur at a co-location. The coordinated transmission blanking over thefirst carrier bandwidth and the concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth may not be co-located. The coordinated transmissionblanking over the first carrier bandwidth may occur at a pre-scheduledtime. The coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth and the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth may be synchronized with respect to at least an absolute timeor a known time offset.

In some embodiments, at least the first carrier bandwidth or the secondcarrier bandwidth utilizes licensed spectrum. The first carrierbandwidth and the second carrier bandwidth may utilize different radioaccess technologies (RAT).

Coordinating the transmission blanking on the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth may include coordinating a hard transmissionblanking on the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. Thecoordinated hard transmission blanking may include no flow beingscheduled for transmission during a period of the coordinated hardtransmission blanking. Coordinating the transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth may include coordinatinga soft transmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth. The coordinated soft transmission blanking may include atransmission of at least a priority flow or a delay sensitive flowduring a period of the coordinated soft transmission blanking. Thecoordinated soft transmission blanking may include reducing a power oftransmission during a period of the coordinated soft transmissionblanking. The coordinated soft transmission blanking may include atransmission during a portion of the coordinated soft transmissionblanking less than an entire period of the coordinated soft transmissionblanking. Some embodiments further include receiving a request from thesecond carrier bandwidth to coordinate the transmission blanking at aspecific time; and/or agreeing to accommodate the request from thesecond carrier bandwidth.

The coordinated transmission blanking may occur at a base station. Thewireless communications system may include a time division multiplexingsystem. The coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth may occur at a slot level.

The power increase over the second carrier bandwidth and the coordinatedtransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth may be appliedindependently. The power increase over the second carrier bandwidth andthe coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidthmay be applied together. The power increase over the second carrierbandwidth and the coordinated transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth may be activated in co-located systems. The powerincrease over the second carrier bandwidth and the coordinatedtransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth may be activatedin co-located systems based on a load of the co-located systems.

Some embodiments include increasing at least a data rate of at least acontrol channel or data channel utilizing the power increase over thesecond carrier bandwidth. Some embodiments include increasing a power oftransmission over the first carrier bandwidth during a period of timedifferent than the coordinated transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth. Some embodiments include coordinating the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth during one or more slotswhen the first carrier bandwidth is not transmitting. Some embodimentsinclude coordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over thesecond carrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth or increasing a power of transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a coordinated transmission blanking on aforward link over the second carrier bandwidth. Coordinating thetransmission blanking on the forward link over the second carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the first carrierbandwidth may depend at least upon a relative loading of the firstcarrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth or a timeof day. Some embodiments include coordinating a power transmissionincrease over the first carrier bandwidth during a coordinatedtransmission blanking on a forward link over the second carrierbandwidth. Some embodiments include identifying a third carrierbandwidth different from the second carrier bandwidth that at leastpartially overlaps the first carrier bandwidth of the wirelesscommunications system; and/or coordinating a transmission blanking onthe forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during a concurrenttransmission over the third carrier bandwidth.

The previous methods may also be implemented in some embodiments by awireless communications system configured for reducing interference, awireless communications device configured for reducing interference,and/or a computer program product for reducing interference within awireless communications system that includes a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium.

Some embodiments include a wireless communications system configured forreducing interference. The system may include: a means for identifying afirst carrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps a secondcarrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system; and/or a meansfor coordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth.

The wireless communications system configured for reducing interferencemay include a means for coordinating the transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during a control channeltransmission over the second carrier bandwidth. The wirelesscommunications system configured for reducing interference may include ameans for changing the coordinated transmission blanking on the forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmissionover the second carrier bandwidth based on at least a time of day or aloading of the forward link. In some embodiments, at least the firstcarrier bandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrierbandwidth.

The wireless communications system configured for reducing interferencemay include a means for coordinating a hard transmission blanking as thecoordinated transmission blanking on the forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth. The wireless communications system configured forreducing interference may include a means for coordinating a softtransmission blanking as the coordinated transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth. The wirelesscommunications system configured for reducing interference may include ameans for increasing a transmission power over the second carrierbandwidth during the coordinated transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth.

The wireless communications system configured for reducing interferencemay include means for implementing the other aspects of the method ofreducing interference within the wireless communications systemdescribed above.

Some embodiments include a computer program product for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system. The computerprogram product may include a non-transitory computer-readable mediumthat includes: code for identifying a first carrier bandwidth that atleast partially overlaps a second carrier bandwidth of the wirelesscommunications system; and/or code for coordinating a transmissionblanking on a forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during aconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth.

The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include code forcoordinating the transmission blanking on the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth during a control channel transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth. The non-transitory computer-readable mediummay include code for changing the coordinated transmission blanking onthe forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth based on at least a timeof day or a loading of the forward link. At least the first carrierbandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth may be a flexible carrierbandwidth.

The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include code forcoordinating a hard transmission blanking as the coordinatedtransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include codefor coordinating a soft transmission blanking as the coordinatedtransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include codefor increasing a transmission power over the second carrier bandwidthduring the coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth.

The computer program product for reducing interference within a wirelesscommunications system that includes a non-transitory may include codefor implementing the other aspects of the method of reducinginterference within the wireless communications system described above.

Some embodiments include a wireless communications device configured forreducing interference within a wireless communications system. Thedevice may include at least one processor configured to: identify afirst carrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps a secondcarrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system; and/orcoordinate a transmission blanking on a forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth.

The at least one processor may be further configured to coordinate thetransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth during a control channel transmission over the second carrierbandwidth. The at least one processor may be further configured tochange the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward link overthe first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth based on at least a time of day or a loading ofthe forward link. In some embodiments, at least the first carrierbandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrierbandwidth.

The at least one processor may be further configured to coordinate ahard transmission blanking as the coordinated transmission blanking onthe forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth. The at least oneprocessor may be further configured to coordinate a soft transmissionblanking as the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward linkover the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission overthe second carrier bandwidth.

The at least one processor may be further configured to implement theother aspects of the method of reducing interference within the wirelesscommunications system described above.

Some embodiments include a method of reducing interference within awireless communications system. The method may include: identifying afirst carrier bandwidth and a second carrier bandwidth of the wirelesscommunications system, wherein the first carrier bandwidth at leastpartially overlaps the second carrier bandwidth; and/or coordinating atransmission power increase for a forward link over the first carrierbandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth.

The method of reducing interference within the wireless communicationssystem may include determining at least a time of day or a loading ofthe forward link and coordinating the transmission power increase forthe forward link over the first carrier bandwidth with respect to thesecond carrier bandwidth changes based on at least the determined timeof day or the determined loading of the forward link. The method ofreducing interference within the wireless communications system mayinclude receiving a request to coordinate the transmission powerincrease at a specific time. The method of reducing interference withinthe wireless communications system may include coordinating atransmission blanking over the second carrier bandwidth during thecoordinated transmission power increase over the first carrierbandwidth. In some embodiments, at least the first carrier bandwidth orthe second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrier bandwidth.

The method of reducing interference within the wireless communicationssystem may include coordinating the transmission power increase wherethe power increase occurs at a pre-scheduled time. The method ofreducing interference within the wireless communications system mayinclude coordinating the transmission power increase where the powerincrease occurs at a base station.

The method of reducing interference within the wireless communicationssystem may include identifying a third carrier bandwidth and the secondcarrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system, wherein thesecond carrier bandwidth partially overlaps the third carrier bandwidth;and/or coordinating a transmission power increase for a forward linkover the third carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrierbandwidth.

The previous methods may also be implemented in some embodiments by awireless communications system configured for reducing interference, awireless communications device configured for reducing interference,and/or a computer program product for reducing interference within awireless communications system that includes a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium.

Some embodiments include a wireless communications system configured forreducing interference. The system may include: a means for identifying afirst carrier bandwidth and a second carrier bandwidth of the wirelesscommunications system, wherein the first carrier bandwidth at leastpartially overlaps the second carrier bandwidth; and/or a means forcoordinating a transmission power increase for a forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth.

The wireless communications system configured for reducing interferencemay include a means for changing the coordinated transmission powerincrease for the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth withrespect to the second carrier bandwidth based on at least a time of dayor a loading of the forward link. In some embodiments, least the firstcarrier bandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrierbandwidth.

The wireless communications system configured for reducing interferencemay include a means for coordinating a transmission blanking over thesecond carrier bandwidth during the coordinated transmission powerincrease over the first carrier bandwidth. The wireless communicationssystem configured for reducing interference may include a means forreceiving a request to coordinate the transmission power increase at aspecific time.

The wireless communications system configured for reducing interferencemay include means for implementing the other aspects of the method ofreducing interference within the wireless communications systemdescribed above.

Some embodiments include computer program product for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system including anon-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory computerreadable medium may include: code for identifying a first carrierbandwidth and a second carrier bandwidth of the wireless communicationssystem, wherein the first carrier bandwidth at least partially overlapsthe second carrier bandwidth; and/or code for coordinating atransmission power increase for a forward link over the first carrierbandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth.

The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include code forchanging the coordinated transmission power increase for the forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrierbandwidth based on at least a time of day or a loading of the forwardlink. In some embodiments, least the first carrier bandwidth or thesecond carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrier bandwidth.

The non-transitory computer readable medium may include code forimplementing the other aspects of the method of reducing interferencewithin the wireless communications system described above.

Some embodiments include a wireless communications device configured forreducing interference. The device may include at least one processorconfigured to: identify a first carrier bandwidth and a second carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system, wherein the firstcarrier bandwidth at least partially overlaps the second carrierbandwidth; and/or coordinate a transmission power increase for a forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrierbandwidth.

The at least one processor may be further configured to change thecoordinated transmission power increase for the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidthbased on at least a time of day or a loading of the forward link. Insome embodiments, at least the first carrier bandwidth or the secondcarrier bandwidth is a flexible carrier bandwidth.

The at least one processor may be further configured to coordinate atransmission blanking over the second carrier bandwidth during thecoordinated transmission power increase over the first carrierbandwidth. The at least one processor may be further configured toreceive a request to coordinate the transmission power increase at aspecific time.

The at least one processor may be further configured to implement theother aspects of the method of reducing interference within the wirelesscommunications system described above.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that thedetailed description that follows may be better understood. Additionalfeatures and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conceptionand specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Features whichare believed to be characteristic of the concepts disclosed herein, bothas to their organization and method of operation, together withassociated advantages will be better understood from the followingdescription when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.Each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In theappended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communications system inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2A shows an example of a wireless communications system where aflexible waveform fits into a portion of spectrum not broad enough tofit a normal waveform in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2B shows an example of a wireless communications system where aflexible waveform fits into a portion of spectrum near an edge of a bandin accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2C shows an example of a wireless communications system where aflexible waveform partially overlaps a normal waveform in accordancewith various embodiments;

FIG. 2D shows an example of a wireless communications system where aflexible waveform is completely overlapped by a normal waveform inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2E shows an example of a wireless communications system where oneflexible waveform is completely overlapped by a normal waveform andanother flexible waveform partially overlaps a normal waveform inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2F shows an example of a wireless communications system where onenormal waveform partially overlaps another normal waveform in accordancewith various embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a wireless communications system inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows an example of frame and slot structure of a normalbandwidth system and a flexible bandwidth system in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows an example of transmission blanking on a normal bandwidthsystem coordinated with control channel transmissions on a flexiblebandwidth system in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a device that includes interferencereduction functionality in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a mobile device in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a wireless communications system inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a wireless communications system thatincludes a base station and a mobile device in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 10A shows a flow diagram of a method for reducing interferencewithin a wireless communications system in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 10B shows a flow diagram of a method for reducing interferencewithin a wireless communications system in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 10C shows a flow diagram of a method for reducing interferencewithin a wireless communications system in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 11A shows a flow diagram of a method for reducing interferencewithin a wireless communications system in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 11B shows a flow diagram of a method for reducing interferencewithin a wireless communications system in accordance with variousembodiments; and

FIG. 11C shows a flow diagram of a method for reducing interferencewithin a wireless communications system in accordance with variousembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods, systems, and devices are provided for coordinating forward linkblanking and/or power boosting in wireless communications systems. Someembodiments include two or more bandwidth systems. The bandwidth of onebandwidth system may overlap with the bandwidth of another bandwidthsystem. This overlap may create interference. Coordinating forward linkblanking and/or power boosting may aid in reducing the impact of thisinterference. Some embodiments utilize flexible bandwidth and/or normalbandwidth systems.

Some embodiments may utilize hard blanking and/or soft blanking. Forexample, some embodiments may utilize hard blanking in one system whereno data is scheduled for one or more slots in that system. In somecases, pilot and/or MAC transmissions may still happen in those slots asin empty slots. Soft blanking may include situations where a basestation, for example, may not be completely silent in the data portionof the slots but where the base station may transmit less than what thebase station would have in the absence of soft blanking, for example.Soft blanking may include transmissions of at least a priority flow or adelay sensitive flow over at least a portion of the blanking duration,for example. Soft blanking may include reducing a power of transmission.Soft blanking may include reducing power of certain channels.

Flexible bandwidth waveforms for wireless communications systems mayutilize portions of spectrum that may not be big enough to fit a normalwaveform utilizing flexible waveforms. A flexible bandwidth system maybe generated with respect to a normal bandwidth system through dilating,or scaling down, the time or the chip rate of the flexible bandwidthsystem with respect to the normal bandwidth system. Some embodiments mayincrease the bandwidth of a waveform through expanding, or scaling up,the time or the chip rate of the flexible bandwidth system.

Techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunications systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA,Peer-to-Peer, and other systems. The terms “system” and “network” areoften used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radiotechnology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA),etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000Releases 0 and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc.IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High RatePacket Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and othervariants of CDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such asGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA or OFDM systemmay implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB),Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) andLTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA,E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). The techniques describedherein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentionedabove, as well as other systems and radio technologies.

Thus, the following description provides examples, and is not limitingof the scope, applicability, or configuration set forth in the claims.Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elementsdiscussed without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, the methods described may beperformed in an order different from that described, and various stepsmay be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described withrespect to certain embodiments may be combined in other embodiments.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a block diagram illustrates an example of awireless communications system 100 in accordance with variousembodiments. The system 100 includes base stations 105, mobile devices115, a base station controller 120, and a core network 130 (thecontroller 120 may be integrated into the core network 130 in someembodiments; in some embodiments, controller 120 may be integrated intobase stations 105). The system 100 may support operation on multiplecarriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). Multi-carriertransmitters can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on themultiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be a Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) signal, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal,Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) signal, Orthogonal FDMA(OFDMA) signal, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Eachmodulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carrycontrol information (e.g., pilot signals), overhead information, data,etc. The system 100 may be a multi-carrier LTE network capable ofefficiently allocating network resources.

The mobile devices 115 may be any type of mobile station, mobile device,access terminal, subscriber unit, or user equipment. The mobile devices115 may include cellular phones and wireless communications devices, butmay also include personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, otherhandheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, etc. Thus, the termmobile device should be interpreted broadly hereinafter, including theclaims, to include any type of wireless or mobile communications device.

The base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with the mobile devices115 via a base station antenna. The base stations 105 may be configuredto communicate with the mobile devices 115 under the control of thecontroller 120 via multiple carriers. Each of the base station 105 sitescan provide communication coverage for a respective geographic area. Insome embodiments, base stations 105 may be referred to as a NodeB,eNodeB, Home NodeB, and/or Home eNodeB. The coverage area for each basestation 105 here is identified as 110-a, 110-b, or 110-c. The coveragearea for a base station may be divided into sectors (not shown, butmaking up only a portion of the coverage area). The system 100 mayinclude base stations 105 of different types (e.g., macro, micro, femto,and/or pico base stations).

The different aspects of system 100, such as the mobile devices 115, thebase stations 105, the core network 130, and/or the controller 120 maybe configured to utilize flexible bandwidth and waveforms in accordancewith various embodiments. System 100, for example, shows transmissions125 between mobile devices 115 and base stations 105. The transmissions125 may include uplink and/or reverse link transmission, from a mobiledevice 115 to a base station 105, and/or downlink and/or forward linktransmissions, from a base station 105 to a mobile device 115. Thetransmissions 125 may include flexible and/or normal waveforms. Normalwaveforms may also be referred to as legacy and/or normal waveforms.

The different aspects of system 100, such as the mobile devices 115, thebase stations 105, the core network 130, and/or the controller 120 maybe configured to utilize flexible bandwidth and waveforms in accordancewith various embodiments. For example, different aspects of system 100may utilize portions of spectrum that may not be big enough to fit anormal waveform. Devices such as the mobile devices 115, the basestations 105, the core network 130, and/or the controller 120 may beconfigured to adapt the chip rates and/or scaling factors to generateand/or utilize flexible bandwidth and/or waveforms. Some aspects ofsystem 100 may form a flexible subsystem (such as certain mobile devices115 and/or base stations 105) that may be generated with respect to anormal subsystem (that may be implemented using other mobile devices 115and/or base stations 105) through dilating, or scaling down, the time ofthe flexible subsystem with respect to the time of the normal subsystem.

In some embodiments, different aspects of system 100, such as the mobiledevices 115, the base stations 105, the core network 130, and/or thecontroller 120 may be configured for coordinating forward link blankingand/or power boosting in normal and/or flexible bandwidth systems. Forexample, transmissions between a mobile device 115 and a base station105 may utilize bandwidth of a flexible waveform that may overlap withthe bandwidth of a normal waveform. This overlap may create additionalinterference. The base station 105 may coordinate forward link blankingand/or power boosting that may aid in reducing the impact of thisinterference.

FIG. 2A shows an example of a wireless communications system 200-a witha base station 105-a and a mobile device 115-a in accordance withvarious embodiments, where a flexible waveform 210-a fits into a portionof spectrum not broad enough to fit a normal waveform 220-a. System200-a may be an example of system 100 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments,the flexible waveform 210-a may overlap with the normal waveform 220-athat either the base 105-a and/or the mobile device 115-a may transmit.In some cases, the normal waveform 220-a may completely overlap theflexible waveform 210-a. Some embodiments may also utilize multipleflexible waveforms 210. In some embodiments, another base station and/ormobile device (not shown) may transmit the normal waveform 220-a and/orthe flexible waveform 210-a.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 115-a and/or the base station105-a may be configured to separate the signaling and the data trafficinto different flexible bandwidth carriers 210 so that assignedresources can be customized to different traffic patterns. The basestation 105-a may be configured to coordinate forward link blankingand/or power boosting with respect to the normal waveform 220-a and/orflexible waveform 210-a. For example, transmissions between mobiledevice 115-a and base station 105-a may utilize bandwidth of theflexible waveform 210-a that may overlap with the bandwidth of thenormal waveform 220-a. In some embodiments, the mobile device 115-aand/or base station 105-a may be configured for increasing reverse linkthroughput by coordination of multiple wireless systems using reverselink blanking. Base stations 105-a may utilize different indicators toprompt a device, such as a mobile device 115-a, to utilize reverse linkblanking on a normal waveform 220-a to increase throughput for anoverlapping flexible waveform 210-a. In some embodiments, reverse linkblanking may also occur on a flexible waveform 210-a. Some embodimentsmay also utilize power boosting on the reverse link to increase reverselink throughput, such as on the flexible waveform 210-a. FIG. 2B showsan example of a wireless communications system 200-b with a base station105-b and mobile device 115-b, where a flexible waveform 210-b fits intoa portion of spectrum near an edge of a band, which may be a guard band,where normal waveform 220-b may not fit. System 200-b may be an exampleof system 100 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2C shows an example of a wireless communications system 200-c wherea flexible waveform 210-c partially overlaps a normal waveform 220-c inaccordance with various embodiments. System 200-c may be an example ofsystem 100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2D shows an example of a wirelesscommunications systems 200-d where a flexible waveform 210-d iscompletely overlapped by a normal waveform 220-d in accordance withvarious embodiments. System 200-d may be an example of system 100 ofFIG. 1. FIG. 2E shows an example of a wireless communications system200-e where one flexible waveform 210-f is completely overlapped by anormal waveform 220-e and another flexible waveform 210-e partiallyoverlaps the normal waveform 220-e in accordance with variousembodiments. System 200-e may be an example of system 100 of FIG. 1.FIG. 2F shows an example of a wireless communications system 200-f whereone normal waveform 220-f partially overlaps another normal waveform220-g in accordance with various embodiments. System 200-f may be anexample of system 100 of FIG. 1.

In general, a first waveform or carrier bandwidth and a second waveformor carrier bandwidth may partially overlap when they overlap by at least1%, 2%, and/or 5%. In some embodiments, partial overlap may occur whenthe overlap is at least 10%. In some embodiments, the partial overlapmay be less than 99%, 98%, and/or 95%. In some embodiments, the overlapmay be less than 90%. In some cases, a flexible waveform or carrierbandwidth may be contained completely within another waveform or carrierbandwidth such as seen in system 200-d of FIG. 2. This overlap stillreflects partial overlap, as the two waveforms or carrier bandwidths donot completely coincide. In general, partial overlap can mean that thetwo or more waveforms or carrier bandwidths do not completely coincide(i.e., the carrier bandwidths are not the same).

Some embodiments may utilize different definitions of overlap based onpower spectrum density (PSD). For example, one definition of overlapbased on PSD is shown in the following overlap equation for a firstcarrier:

${overlap} = {100\%*{\frac{{\int_{0}^{\infty}{{{PSD}_{1}(f)}*{{PSD}_{2}(f)}}}\ }{{\int_{0}^{\infty}{{{PSD}_{1}(f)}*{{PSD}_{1}(f)}}}\ }.}}$

In this equation, PSD₁(f) is the PSD for a first waveform or carrierbandwidth and PSD₂ (f) is the PSD for a second waveform or carrierbandwidth. When the two waveforms or carrier bandwidths coincide, thenthe overlap equation may equal 100%. When the first waveform or carrierbandwidth and the second waveform or carrier bandwidth at leastpartially overlap, then the overlap equation may not equal 100%. Forexample, the Overlap Equation may result in a partial overlap of greaterthan or equal to 1%, 2%, 5%, and/or 10% in some embodiments. The overlapequation may result in a partial overlap of less than or equal to 99%,98%, 95%, and/or 90% in some embodiments. One may note that in the casein which the first waveform or carrier bandwidth is a normal waveform orcarrier bandwidth and the second waveform or a carrier waveform is aflexible waveform or carrier bandwidth that is contained within thenormal bandwidth or carrier bandwidth, then the overlap equation mayrepresent the ratio of the flexible bandwidth compared to the normalbandwidth, written as a percentage. Furthermore, the overlap equationmay depend on which carrier bandwidth's perspective the overlap equationis formulated with respect to. Some embodiments may utilize otherdefinitions of overlap. In some cases, another overlap may be definedutilizing a square root operation such as the following:

${overlap} = {100\%*{\frac{{\int_{0}^{\infty}{{{PSD}_{1}(f)}*{{PSD}_{2}(f)}}}\ }{{\int_{0}^{\infty}{{{PSD}_{1}(f)}*{{PSD}_{1}(f)}}}\ }.}}$

Other embodiments may utilize other overlap equations that may accountfor multiple overlapping carriers.

FIG. 3 shows a wireless communications system 300 with a base station105-c and a mobile devices 115-c and 115 d, in accordance with variousembodiments. In some embodiments, the base station 105-c may beconfigured for coordinating forward link blanking and/or power boostingin normal and/or flexible carrier bandwidths. For example, transmissions305-a and/or 305-b between the mobile device 115-c/115-d and the basestation 105-a may utilize bandwidth of a flexible waveform that mayoverlap with the bandwidth of a normal waveform; other configurationsare possible, such as partially overlapping normal waveforms orpartially overlapping flexible waveforms. The base station 105-c maycoordinate forward link blanking and/or power boosting that may aid inreducing the impact of interference. In some embodiments, the basestation 105-c may coordinate with another base station (not shown) tocoordinate forward link blanking and/or power boosting in a normaland/or flexible carrier bandwidths.

Transmissions 305-a and/or 305-b between the mobile device 115-c/115-dand the base station 105-a may utilize flexible waveforms that may begenerated to occupy less (or more) bandwidth than a normal waveform. Forexample, at a band edge, there may not be enough available spectrum toplace a normal waveform. For a flexible waveform, as time gets dilated,the frequency occupied by a waveform goes down, thus making it possibleto fit a flexible waveform into spectrum that may not be broad enough tofit a normal waveform. In some embodiments, the flexible waveform may bescaled utilizing a scaling factor N with respect to a normal waveform.Scaling factor N may take on numerous different values including, butnot limited to, integer values such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, etc. N, however,does not have to be an integer.

Some embodiments may utilize additional terminology. A new unit D may beutilized. The unit D is dilated. The unit is unitless and has the valueof N. One can talk about time in the flexible system in terms of“dilated time”. For example, a slot of say 10 ms in normal time may berepresented as 10D ms in flexible time (note: even in normal time, thiswill hold true since N=1 in normal time: D has a value of 1, so 10Dms=10 ms). In time scaling, one can replace most “seconds” with“dilated-seconds”. Note frequency in Hertz is 1/s.

As discussed above, a flexible waveform may be a waveform that occupiesless bandwidth than a normal waveform. Thus, in a flexible bandwidthsystem, the same number of symbols and bits may be transmitted over alonger duration compared to normal bandwidth system. This may result intime stretching, whereby slot duration, frame duration, etc., mayincrease by a scaling factor N. Scaling factor N may represent the ratioof the normal bandwidth to flexible bandwidth (BW). Thus, data rate in aflexible bandwidth system may equal (Normal Rater 1/N), and delay mayequal (Normal Delay×N). In general, a flexible systems channelBW=channel BW of normal systems/N. Delay×BW may remain unchanged.Furthermore, in some embodiments, a flexible waveform may be a waveformthat occupies more bandwidth than a normal waveform.

Throughout this specification, the term normal system, subsystem, and/orwaveform may be utilized to refer to systems, subsystems, and/orwaveforms that involve embodiments that may utilize a scaling factorthat may be equal to one (e.g., N=1) or a normal or standard chip rate.These normal systems, subsystems, and/or waveforms may also be referredto as standard and/or legacy systems, subsystems, and/or waveforms.Furthermore, flexible systems, subsystems, and/or waveforms may beutilized to refer to systems, subsystems, and/or waveforms that involveembodiments that may utilize a scaling factor that may be not equal toone (e.g., N=2, 4, 8, ½, ¼, etc). For N>1, or if a chip rate isdecreased, the bandwidth of a waveform may decrease. Some embodimentsmay utilize scaling factors or chip rates that increase the bandwidth.For example, if N<1, or if the chip rate is increased, then a waveformmay be expanded to cover bandwidth larger than a normal waveform.Flexible systems, subsystems, and/or waveforms may also be referred toas fractional systems, subsystems, and/or waveforms in some cases.Fractional systems, subsystems, and/or waveforms may or may not changebandwidth, for example. A fractional system, subsystem, or waveform maybe flexible because it may offer more possibilities than a normal orstandard system, subsystem, or waveform (e.g., N=1 system).

A flexible waveform may include a waveform that occupies less bandwidththan a normal waveform (in some embodiments, a flexible waveform mayinclude a waveform that occupies more bandwidth than a normal waveform).For example, at the band edge, there may not be enough availablespectrum to place a normal waveform. Unlike normal waveforms, there canbe partial or complete overlap between normal and flexible waveforms. Itis to be noted that the flexible waveform may increase the systemcapacity. There can be a trade off between extent of overlap and thebandwidth of the flexible waveform. The overlap may create additionalinterference. Embodiments may be directed at methods, systems, and/ordevices and be aimed at reducing the interference.

Embodiments may utilize coordinated forward link blanking and/or powerboosting in normal and/or flexible bandwidth systems. In someembodiments, the normal and/or flexible bandwidth systems areco-located. Scheduling can be done based on information about the othersystem. The normal and/or flexible bandwidth systems may be synchronizedin the absolute time scale and/or or value of time offset is known apriori. In some situations, the normal bandwidth system is not highlyloaded. In some situations, the traffic patterns of the normal and/orflexible bandwidth systems are not identical and therefore the peaks inthe two systems are not aligned.

In some embodiments, the flexible bandwidth system may have completeoverlap with the normal bandwidth system. There may be partial overlapof the spectrum of flexible and normal bandwidth systems in someembodiments. For example, flexible waveform and normal waveform for C2Kor UMTS may fully or partially overlap. In another example, two normalfull waveforms for UMTS may partially overlap.

Some embodiments may utilize a scaling factor with respect to differentnormal and/or flexible bandwidth systems. For example, the scalingfactor for simpler implementations may utilize integer values such asN=1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. Other values of N that are not a power of 2 (ormultiple of 2) may be utilized such that scheduling may still occur withregard to which slots to blank. FIG. 4 shows examples 400 of differentframe structures of a normal bandwidth system and/or a flexiblebandwidth system in accordance with various embodiments. For example, anormal bandwidth system (N=1) with data is shown in frame structure 410.A normal bandwidth system (N=1) and with idle portions is shown inexample 420. Merely by way of example, an example 420 of a framestructure for an N=2 flexible bandwidth system with data is also shown.Example 420 shows how the frame structure may be stretched out by afactor of N=2 for this flexible bandwidth system.

The use of blanking may result in a loss of system capacity. Forexample, blanking in one system may mean that no data scheduled for oneor more slots in that system without affecting the QoS requirements ofcurrently served mobiles to facilitate the transmission of some controlor even data messages on the other system. It is to be noted that pilotand MAC transmission may still happen in those slots as in empty slots.It is also to be noted that the blanked slots in one system need not becontiguous as the transmission in the other system could be aninterlaced transmission where every 4^(th) slot is used. For example,for a normal bandwidth system assisting 8 slot transmission for ControlChannel in a flexible bandwidth system (N), 8*N slots every N CC Cyclein normal bandwidth system may need to be idle in normal bandwidthsystem may need to be idle. The loss in capacity may be equal to(0.8*N)/(16*16*N) (i.e., 1/32 or 3.125%, which may be independent of N).A loss in capacity can be absorbed in light- to medium-loaded systems.The loss value may be other than 3.125% if N is not a power of 2 (ormultiple of 2). In some cases, one may want to have some threshold foroverlap before blanking is utilized.

The use of coordinated forward link blanking may have an impact on anapplication's quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example,consider a case where 1 frame in N=1 spans 26.67 msec and 1 slot spans1.67 msec. Some applications (e.g., VoIP) might not be scheduled whilemeeting both the QoS requirements and the blanking schedule as theyrequire low inter-packet delay. The impact of forward link blanking maybe mitigated in some cases by having only high priority delay sensitiveflows scheduled in the “blanked” slots. The impact of N comes in howoften the blanking may need to be done in the assisting system. Theimpact of N may be represented in the span of time for which no trafficis scheduled for one blanking instance in the normal bandwidthsystem-assisting system (i.e., 8*N slots which may not be contiguous).Out of 8*N slots for the blanking duration, N slots may be contiguous.For higher N of the assisted system, this span may be more but ithappens less frequently. For smaller N, this span may be less but ithappens more frequently. For previous example (N=2), there may be lossof 0.5*2*16=16 slots frame every 2 CC cycles. In some cases, schedulingmay deviate from the proportional fair scheduling during the duration ofblanking.

Coordinated forward link blanking may be enhanced in a variety ofdifferent ways. For example, the duration of blanking may be mademinimal. This may include increasing the CC data rate in a flexiblebandwidth system by using fewer slots for control overhead. For example,in one embodiment, one may use 76.8 kbpDs (i.e., 76.8/N kbps as CC datarate). Some embodiments may include power boosting to CC information ina flexible bandwidth system (e.g., transmit power is more than requiredfor same transmit power density). This may offset the reducedreliability of a higher CC data rate in flexible bandwidth systems. thepower boost may causeno additional interference to the normal bandwidthsystem as normal bandwidth system in already blanking. For example,consider a case where blanking is occurring with regard to the normalbandwidth system. Power boosting can be disabled if high priority, delaysensitive flows have to be scheduled in the normal bandwidth systemduring blanking. Also, in some embodiments, more power may be utilizedon normal bandwidth system at other times to compensate for blanking.FIG. 5 shows an example 500 of transmission blanking on a normalbandwidth system 510 coordinated with control channel transmissions on aflexible bandwidth system 520 in accordance with various embodiments. Inthis example, N=2 for the flexible bandwidth system. As shown with thenormal bandwidth system 510, one or more idle slots due to transmissionblanking 515-a/515-b occurs when control transmission 525-a/525-b occursfor the flexible bandwidth system 520. Also shown in example 500 is userdata channel 530 and control channel 535-a/535-b/535-c for the normalbandwidth system 510, and user data channel 540 for the flexiblebandwidth system 520. Other embodiments may utilize different frames orportions of a slot to transmit control channel and/or user data channelinformation. As shown in FIG. 5, 16 slots make 1 frame and 16 suchframes (i.e., 16*16=256 slots) make one control channel (CC) cycle.Other embodiments may utilize different numbers of slots per controlchannel (CC) cycle, different timings, and/or different scaling factors.

Some embodiments may utilize soft blanking on the normal bandwidthsystem (or flexible bandwidth systems in some cases) as mentioned above.Soft blanking may include situations where a base station, for example,may not be completely silent as in hard blanking in the data portion ofthe slots but where the base station may transmit less than what thebase station would have in the absence of soft blanking, for example.Soft blanking may include transmissions of at least a priority flow or adelay sensitive flow over at least a portion of the blanking duration.Soft blanking may include reducing a power of transmission. In additionto priority or delay sensitive flows, for example, other flows can bescheduled in the “blanked” slots on normal bandwidth systems. In somecases, those flows can be sent with lowered power (on the normalbandwidth system). This may be suitable to serve mobile devices withbetter channel conditions. In some embodiments, even with hard blanking,pilot and/or MAC transmissions might be present.

For collocated systems, where load information of the first and secondbandwidth systems may be available to a scheduler, the blanking may bedone at a finer granularity, such as at the slot level. The blankingcould be triggered by a request response procedure where the secondbandwidth system that may require help may send a request to the firstbandwidth system and the latter may respond with an acknowledgement orrejects citing a reason, for example.

Some embodiments may utilize non co-located flexible and normalbandwidth systems. The granularity of blanking may be relatively coarserfor non-collocated systems if the relative load information is notshared. For example, blanking can be done at pre-scheduled times of day.This may assume that the peaks in both systems do not happen at the sametime due to different traffic distributions. A flexible non co-locatedbase station, for example, can request normal bandwidth base stations toblank at a certain time or times when it may want to send data to amobile device far away.

Embodiments may provide several advantages. For example, blanking in anormal bandwidth system may provide more reliability to CC transmissionsor other transmissions in flexible bandwidth systems as there may be noscheduled flow in the normal bandwidth system. Power boosting to aflexible CC transmission may enable flexible bandwidth system's CCtransmission at higher rates thereby using fewer slots without loweringreliability and/or enhanced reliability of CC if CC data rate is keptthe same. Power boosting also may not cause interference to a normalbandwidth system if the normal bandwidth system is blanking. Blankingand power boost can be applied also at the same time or at differenttimes.

Some embodiments may include blanking in the flexible bandwidth system.Blanking in a flexible bandwidth system can be done to reduceinterference on the normal bandwidth system. For a flexible bandwidthsystem (N) assisting 8 slot transmission for control channel in a normalbandwidth system, (0.5*16) slots every CC Cycle (i.e., 16*16 slots) inflexible bandwidth system may need to be idle. The loss in capacity isagain (0.5*16)/(16*16) (i.e., 1/32 or 3.125%, which may be independentof N). Thus loss of system capacity may be the same if seen withblanking for a normal bandwidth system discussed above. It is to benoted that when the assisting system is flexible (N) and assisted systemis normal, then to assist 1 slot transmission, 1/N slot needs to beblanked. The effective loss in system capacity may be higher if lessthan 1 slot cannot be blanked. If a normal and a flexible bandwidthsystem's peak loads are not time aligned, there can be alternatingperiods of blanking in the normal system, followed by blanking in theflexible system and so on. In some embodiments, the flexible bandwidthsystem may transmit with more power (if available headroom) for sometime to compensate for blanking.

The blanking can be extended beyond control channel (CC) transmissions(i.e., can be applied for data transmissions). The loss in systemcapacity in the assisting system may depend on how many slots areblanked. Blanking and/or power boosting for data can be doneopportunistically. For example, blanking may be utilized without powerboosting. When there is less traffic on one system; that system canmanage its traffic slot allocations such that it can just blank for sometime and transmit all its traffic in a bursty manner for some othertime. The other system can transmit with higher data rates during theblanking slots of the first system since there will be lessinterference.

Power boosting may be utilized without blanking in some cases. Forexample, when the mobile devices served by the system with regular powerare known to be close to the base station and can tolerate additionalinterference, then the other system can boost its power to serve itsmobile devices with more power, hence this may result in higher datarates. One potential problem may be interference to other cells. Thiscan be solved by coordination with other cells. If similar conditionsexist in the neighboring cells, then the additional interference may betolerated in some situations. Other cells may let this cell boost itspower to a certain level in some situations. The power boost may be afunction of different factors. For example, the power boost may be afunction of the intra-cell and/or inter-cell interference factors. Inone embodiment, the power boost may be equal, but is not limited, to:min {power boost possible without causing problem to the first system(intra cell), power boost possible without causing problem to othercells of both systems (inter cell)}.

Blanking and power boosting may be utilized at the same time. When thereis less traffic on one system, that system can manage its traffic slotallocations such that it can just blank for some time and transmit allits traffic in a bursty manner for some other time. The other system canincrease its power output without causing any problems to the othercells of the first system at least to the point where its power isequivalent to the sum of the original powers of two systems for a fullyoverlapping spectrum allocation for the two systems. For partialallocation, the ratio of overlap may be taken into consideration. Theother system may need to coordinate with other cells of its system forhow much it can boost its power.

In some embodiments, instead of a transmitter stopping transmissions forblanking, it can lower its power. Since the interference levels may bechanged as a result, calculations for data rates and power boost mayhave to be taken into consideration.

Blanking and/or power boosting tools and techniques discussed herein canbe extended to two normal systems or two flexible systems operating inthe same frequency (i.e., non co-located). Merely by way of example, thetwo flexible systems may include a first factional system with a scalingfactor N=2 and a second flexible system with a scaling factor N=4; inthis example the two systems may help each other due to the relationshipbetween the two scaling factors. Embodiments may be extended to TDDsystems where normal blanking during flexible transmission occurs at thesame time or vice versa either at uplink or forward link.

In some embodiments, data blanking in one system may occur for datatransmission in the other system. Data blanking in one system may occurfor control transmission in the other system. Control blanking in onesystem may occur for data transmission in the other system. Controlblanking in one system may occur for control transmission in the othersystem.

Turning next to FIG. 6, a block diagram illustrates a device 600 thatincludes interference reduction functionality in accordance with variousembodiments. The device 600 may be an example of aspects of the basestations 105 of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8, and/or FIG. 9. Thedevice 600 may also be a processor. The device 600 may also be aprocessor. The device 600 may include a receiver module 605, a powerboosting module 610, a blanking module 615, and/or a transmitter module620. Each of these components may be in communication with each other.

These components of the device 600 may, individually or collectively, beimplemented with one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs) adapted to perform some or all of the applicable functions inhardware. Alternatively, the functions may be performed by one or moreother processing units (or cores), on one or more integrated circuits.In other embodiments, other types of integrated circuits may be used(e.g., Structured/Platform ASICs, Field Programmable Gate Arrays(FPGAs), and other Semi-Custom ICs), which may be programmed in anymanner known in the art. The functions of each unit may also beimplemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodied in amemory, formatted to be executed by one or more general orapplication-specific processors.

The receiver module 605 may receive information such as packet, data,and/or signaling information regarding what device 600 has received ortransmitted. The received information may be utilized by the powerboosting module 610 and/or blanking module 615 for a variety ofpurposes.

The receiver module 605 may be configured to identify multiple carrierbandwidths, such as first carrier bandwidth and a second carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system. The first carrierbandwidth may at least partially overlap the second carrier bandwidth.The blanking module 615 may utilize the carrier bandwidth informationfrom the receiver module 605 to coordinate a transmission blanking on aforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during a concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth.

In some embodiments, the blanking module 615 may coordinate thetransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth such that itoccurs during a control channel transmission over the second carrierbandwidth. The blanking module 615 may determine a timing of the controlchannel transmission over the second carrier bandwidth and coordinatethe transmission blanking based on the determined timing of the controlchannel transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. The blankingmodule 615 may coordinate the transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth such that it occurs during a data transmission overthe second carrier bandwidth. The blanking module 615 may determineaspects about the data transmission over the second carrier bandwidth,such as when the data transmission may occur and/or an amount data to betransmitted. The blanking module 615 may coordinate the transmissionblanking such that it occurs during the data transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth. In some embodiments, the coordinatedtransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidths is changed based on at least a time of day or a load of theforward link.

The transmission blanking coordinated by the blanking module 615 overthe first carrier bandwidth and the concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier may be co-located. The coordinated transmission blankingover the first carrier bandwidth and the concurrent transmission overthe second carrier bandwidth may not be co-located. The coordinatedtransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth may occur at apre-scheduled time. The transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth coordinated by the blanking module 615 and the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier may be synchronized with respect toan absolute time or known time offset.

In some embodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a first flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a second flexible bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth and thesecond carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidth. In some embodiments,the first carrier bandwidth is a first normal bandwidth and the secondcarrier bandwidth is a second normal bandwidth. In some embodiments, thefirst carrier bandwidth may fully overlap the second carrier bandwidth,such as when a flexible bandwidth carrier is fully overlapped by anormal carrier bandwidth. Some embodiments may be extended to additionalcarrier bandwidths, such as a third bandwidth carrier.

In some embodiments, at least the first carrier bandwidth or the secondcarrier bandwidth utilizes licensed spectrum. In some embodiments, thefirst carrier bandwidth and the second carrier bandwidth utilizedifferent radio access technologies (RATs). For example, in oneembodiment, the first carrier bandwidth utilizes LTE, while the secondcarrier bandwidth utilizes EV-DO, or vice versa.

The blanking module 615 may be configured to generate transmissionblanking that includes hard blanking. Hard blanking may include now flowbeing scheduled for transmission during the period of transmissionblanking. The blanking module 615 may generate transmission blankingthat includes soft blanking. Soft blanking may include transmissions ofat least a priority flow or a delay sensitive flow during the period oftransmission blanking. Soft blanking may include reducing a power oftransmission. Coordinated soft transmission blanking may includetransmissions during a portion of the coordinated soft transmissionblanking less than an entire period of the coordinated soft transmissionblanking.

Some embodiments may further include configuring the receiver module 605to identify a third carrier bandwidth different than the second carrierbandwidth that at least partially overlaps the first carrier bandwidthof the wireless communications system. The blanking module 615 maycoordinate a transmission blanking on the forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the thirdcarrier bandwidth. This use of a third or more carrier bandwidths may bereferred to as multi-carrier embodiments. These multi-carrierembodiments can be co-located or at a different location. For example,if co-located, blanking may not be utilized for the close by mobiledevice, while blanking may occur for a mobile device further away. Ifservice is needed for both the close and far away mobile devices, theclose mobile device may be placed on the smaller carrier bandwidth andblanked since it can take the lower signal to reduce the interferencefor the mobile device further away.

The power boosting module 610 may be configured to increase a power oftransmission over the second carrier bandwidth during the transmissionblanking over the first carrier bandwidth. In some embodiments, thepower increase and the transmission blanking are applied independently.In some embodiments, the power increase and the transmission blankingare applied together. In some embodiments, the power increase and thetransmission blanking are activated in co-located systems. In someembodiments, the power increase and the transmission blanking areactivated in co-located systems based on the load of the co-locatedsystems. The coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth may occur at a slot level. Some embodiments include increasingat least a data rate of at least a control channel or data channelutilizing the power increase over the second carrier bandwidth. Someembodiments include increasing a power of transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a period of time different than the coordinatedtransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth. Coordinating theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth may occurduring one or more slots when the first carrier bandwidth is nottransmitting. In some embodiments, at least coordinating a transmissionblanking on the forward link over the second carrier bandwidth duringthe concurrent transmission over the first carrier bandwidth orincreasing the power of transmission over the first carrier bandwidthduring the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward link overthe second carrier bandwidth depends at least upon a relative loading ofthe first carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidthor time of day.

In some embodiments, the power boosting module 610 may be furtherconfigured to increase transmission power over the first carrierbandwidth and/or the second carrier bandwidth such that these bandwidthsare not be not co-located. In some embodiments, the power boostingmodule 610 may be further configured such that the transmission powerincrease may occur at a pre-scheduled time in some embodiments. Someembodiments may further include the receiver module 605 being configuredto receive a request from the second carrier bandwidth to coordinate thetransmission power increase at a specific time. In some embodiments, thefirst carrier bandwidth system may agree to accommodate the request fromthe second carrier bandwidth; in some cases, the first carrier bandwidthmay send an acknowledgement or agreement message.

Some embodiments may further include configuring the receiver module 605to identify a third carrier bandwidth and the second carrier bandwidthof the wireless communications system where the second carrier bandwidthat least partially overlaps the third carrier bandwidth. The powerboosting module 610 may coordinate a transmission power increase for aforward link over the third carrier bandwidth with respect to the secondcarrier bandwidth.

Some embodiments of power boosting module 610 and/or the blanking module615 may be further configured to at least coordinate a transmissionblanking on a forward link over the second carrier bandwidth during aconcurrent transmission over the first carrier bandwidth or increase apower of transmission over the first carrier bandwidth during thetransmission blanking over the second carrier bandwidth. At leastcoordinating the transmission blanking on the forward link over thesecond carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over thefirst carrier bandwidth, increasing the power of transmission over thefirst carrier bandwidth during the transmission blanking over the secondcarrier bandwidth, coordinating the transmission blanking on the forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmissionover the second carrier bandwidth, or increasing the power oftransmission over the second carrier bandwidth during the transmissionblanking over the first carrier bandwidth may change based on at least atime of day or a loading of at least one of the forward links.

The transmission blanking coordinated by the blanking module 615 overthe first carrier bandwidth and the concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier may not be co-located in some cases. The blanking module615 may coordinate the transmission blanking such that it occurs at apre-scheduled time. In some embodiments, the receiver module 605 may beconfigured to receive a request to coordinate the transmission blankingat a specific time.

In some embodiments, the power boosting module 610 may coordinate atransmission power increase over a first carrier bandwidth with respectto a second carrier bandwidth. The first carrier bandwidth may partiallyoverlap the second carrier bandwidth. Some embodiments may furtherinclude the power boosting module 610 coordinating with the blankingmodule 615 such that a transmission blanking occurs over the secondcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth. The concurrent transmission over the first carrierbandwidth may occur during the transmission power increase. In someembodiments, the power boosting module 610 may determine at least a timeof day or a loading of the forward link; the power boosting module 610may coordinate the transmission power increase for the forward link overthe first carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidthchanges based on at least the determined time of day or the determinedloading of the forward link.

In some embodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a first flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a second flexible bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth and thesecond carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidth. In some embodiments,the first carrier bandwidth is a first normal bandwidth and the secondcarrier bandwidth is a second normal bandwidth.

In some embodiments, the blanking module 615 and/or the receiver module605 may be configured to receive the coordinated transmission blankingon the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth and/or theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. The blankingmodule 615 and/or the receiver module 605 may be configured to receivethe variations related to coordinated transmission blanking and/orconcurrent transmissions as discussed above with respect to device 600.In some embodiments, the power boosting module 610 and/or receivermodule 605 may be configured to receive the increased transmission powerover one carrier bandwidth during the transmission blanking over anothercarrier bandwidth. The power boosting module 615 and/or the receivermodule 605 may be configured to receive the variations related toincreased power transmission as discussed above with respect to device600.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram 700 of a mobile device 115-e configured tofacilitate the use of flexible bandwidth in accordance with variousembodiments. The mobile device 115-e may have any of variousconfigurations, such as personal computers (e.g., laptop computers,netbook computers, tablet computers, etc.), cellular telephones, PDAs,digital video recorders (DVRs), internet appliances, gaming consoles,e-readers, etc. The mobile device 115-e may have an internal powersupply (not shown), such as a small battery, to facilitate mobileoperation. In some embodiments, the mobile device 115-e may be themobile device 115 of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8, and/or FIG. 9,and/or the device 600 of FIG. 6. The mobile device 115-e may be amulti-mode mobile device. The mobile device 115-e may be referred to asa wireless communications device in some cases.

The mobile device 115-e may include antennas 740, a transceiver module750, memory 780, and a processor module 770, which each may be incommunication, directly or indirectly, with each other (e.g., via one ormore buses). The transceiver module 750 is configured to communicatebi-directionally, via the antennas 740 and/or one or more wired orwireless links, with one or more networks, as described above. Forexample, the transceiver module 750 may be configured to communicatebi-directionally with base stations 105 of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG.8, and/or FIG. 9. The transceiver module 750 may include a modemconfigured to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets tothe antennas 740 for transmission, and to demodulate packets receivedfrom the antennas 740. While the mobile device 115-e may include asingle antenna, the mobile device 115-e will typically include multipleantennas 740 for multiple links.

The memory 780 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-onlymemory (ROM). The memory 780 may store computer-readable,computer-executable software code 785 containing instructions that areconfigured to, when executed, cause the processor module 770 to performvarious functions described herein (e.g., call processing, databasemanagement, message routing, etc.). Alternatively, the software 785 maynot be directly executable by the processor module 770 but be configuredto cause the computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to performfunctions described herein.

The processor module 770 may include an intelligent hardware device,e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) such as those made by Intel®Corporation or AMD®, a microcontroller, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor module 770 may include aspeech encoder (not shown) configured to receive audio via a microphone,convert the audio into packets (e.g., 30 ms in length) representative ofthe received audio, provide the audio packets to the transceiver module750, and provide indications of whether a user is speaking.Alternatively, an encoder may only provide packets to the transceivermodule 750, with the provision or withholding/suppression of the packetitself providing the indication of whether a user is speaking.

According to the architecture of FIG. 7, the mobile device 115-e mayfurther include a communications management module 760. Thecommunications management module 760 may manage communications withother mobile devices 115. By way of example, the communicationsmanagement module 760 may be a component of the mobile device 115-e incommunication with some or all of the other components of the mobiledevice 115-e via a bus. Alternatively, functionality of thecommunications management module 760 may be implemented as a componentof the transceiver module 750, as a computer program product, and/or asone or more controller elements of the processor module 770.

The components for mobile device 115-e may be configured to implementaspects discussed above with respect to device 600 in FIG. 6 and may notbe repeated here for the sake of brevity. The power boosting module610-a may be the power boosting module 610 of FIG. 6. The forward linkblanking module 615-a may be the blanking module 615 of FIG. 6. In someembodiments, the blanking module 615-a and/or other components of device115-e may be configured to receive the coordinated transmission blankingon the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth and/or theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. The blankingmodule 615-a and/or other components of device 115-e may be configuredto receive the variations related to coordinated transmission blankingand/or concurrent transmissions as discussed above with respect todevice 600. In some embodiments, the power boosting module 610-a and/orother components of device 115-e may be configured to receive theincreased transmission power over one carrier bandwidth during thetransmission blanking over another carrier bandwidth. The power boostingmodule 610-a and/or other components of device 115-e may be configuredto receive the variations related to increased power transmission asdiscussed above with respect to device 600.

The mobile device 115-e may also include a spectrum identificationmodule 715. The spectrum identification module 715 may be utilized toidentify spectrum available for flexible waveforms. In some embodiments,a handover module 725 may be utilized to perform handover procedures ofthe mobile device 115-e from one base station to another. For example,the handover module 725 may perform a handover procedure of the mobiledevice 115-e from one base station to another where normal waveforms areutilized between the mobile device 115-e and one of the base stationsand flexible waveforms are utilized between the mobile device andanother base station. A scaling module 710 may be utilized to scaleand/or alter chip rates to generate flexible waveforms.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 750, in conjunction withantennas 740, along with other possible components of mobile device115-e, may transmit information regarding flexible waveforms and/orscaling factors from the mobile device 115-e to base stations or a corenetwork. In some embodiments, the transceiver module 750, in conjunctionwith antennas 740, along with other possible components of mobile device115-e, may transmit information, such flexible waveforms and/or scalingfactors, to base stations or a core network such that these devices orsystems may utilize flexible waveforms.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a communications system 800 that may beconfigured for utilizing flexible waveforms in accordance with variousembodiments. This system 800 may be an example of aspects of the system100 depicted in FIG. 1, systems 200 of FIG. 2, system 300 of FIG. 3,and/or system 900 of FIG. 9. The base station 105-e may include antennas845, a transceiver module 850, memory 870, and a processor module 865,which each may be in communication, directly or indirectly, with eachother (e.g., over one or more buses). The transceiver module 850 may beconfigured to communicate bi-directionally, via the antennas 845, withthe mobile device 115-f, which may be a multi-mode mobile device. Thetransceiver module 850 (and/or other components of the base station105-e) may also be configured to communicate bi-directionally with oneor more networks. In some cases, the base station 105-e may communicatewith the network 130-a and/or controller 120-a through networkcommunications module 875. Base station 105-e may be an example of aneNodeB base station, a Home eNodeB base station, a NodeB base station,and/or a Home NodeB base station. Controller 120-a may be integratedinto base station 105-e in some cases, such as with an eNodeB basestation.

Base station 105-e may also communicate with other base stations 105,such as base station 105-m and base station 105-n. Each of the basestations 105 may communicate with mobile device 115-f using differentwireless communications technologies, such as different Radio AccessTechnologies. In some cases, base station 105-e may communicate withother base stations such as 105-m and/or 105-n utilizing base stationcommunication module 815. In some embodiments, base stationcommunication module 815 may provide an X2 interface within an LTEwireless communication technology to provide communication between someof the base stations 105. In some embodiments, base station 105-e maycommunicate with other base stations through controller 120-a and/ornetwork 130-a.

The memory 870 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-onlymemory (ROM). The memory 870 may also store computer-readable,computer-executable software code 871 containing instructions that areconfigured to, when executed, cause the processor module 865 to performvarious functions described herein (e.g., call processing, databasemanagement, message routing, etc.). Alternatively, the software 871 maynot be directly executable by the processor module 865 but be configuredto cause the computer, e.g., when compiled and executed, to performfunctions described herein.

The processor module 865 may include an intelligent hardware device,e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) such as those made by Intel®Corporation or AMD®, a microcontroller, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor module 865 may include aspeech encoder (not shown) configured to receive audio via a microphone,convert the audio into packets (e.g., 30 ms in length) representative ofthe received audio, provide the audio packets to the transceiver module850, and provide indications of whether a user is speaking.Alternatively, an encoder may only provide packets to the transceivermodule 850, with the provision or withholding/suppression of the packetitself providing the indication of whether a user is speaking.

The transceiver module 850 may include a modem configured to modulatethe packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas 845 fortransmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas 845.While some examples of the base station 105-e may include a singleantenna 845, the base station 105-e preferably includes multipleantennas 845 for multiple links which may support carrier aggregation.For example, one or more links may be used to support macrocommunications with mobile device 115-f.

According to the architecture of FIG. 8, the base station 105-e mayfurther include a communications management module 830. Thecommunications management module 830 may manage communications withother base stations 105. By way of example, the communicationsmanagement module 830 may be a component of the base station 105-e incommunication with some or all of the other components of the basestation 105-e via a bus. Alternatively, functionality of thecommunications management module 830 may be implemented as a componentof the transceiver module 850, as a computer program product, and/or asone or more controller elements of the processor module 865.

The components for base station 105-e may be configured to implementaspects discussed above with respect to device 600 in FIG. 6 and may notbe repeated here for the sake of brevity. The power boosting module610-b may be the power boosting module 610 of FIG. 6. The forward linkblanking module 615-b may be the blanking module 615 of FIG. 11.

The base station 105-e may also include a spectrum identification module815. The spectrum identification module 815 may be utilized to identifyspectrum available for flexible waveforms. In some embodiments, ahandover module 825 may be utilized to perform handover procedures ofthe mobile device 115-f from one base station 105 to another. Forexample, the handover module 825 may perform a handover procedure of themobile device 115-f from base station 105-e to another where normalwaveforms are utilized between the mobile device 115-f and one of thebase stations and flexible waveforms are utilized between the mobiledevice and another base station. A scaling module 810 may be utilized toscale and/or alter chip rates to generate flexible waveforms.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 850 in conjunction withantennas 845, along with other possible components of base station105-e, may transmit information regarding flexible waveforms and/orscaling factors from the base station 105-e to the mobile device 115-f,to other base stations 105-m/105-n, or core network 130-a. In someembodiments, the transceiver module 850 in conjunction with antennas845, along with other possible components of base station 105-e, maytransmit information to the mobile device 115-f, to other base stations105-m/105-n, or core network 130-a, such as flexible waveforms and/orscaling factors, such that these devices or systems may utilize flexiblewaveforms.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a system 900 including a base station 105-fand a mobile device 115-g in accordance with various embodiments. Thissystem 900 may be an example of the system 100 of FIG. 1, systems 200 ofFIG. 2, system 300 of FIG. 3, and/or system 800 of FIG. 8. The basestation 105-f may be equipped with antennas 934-a through 934-x, and themobile device 115-g may be equipped with antennas 952-a through 952-n.At the base station 105-f, a transmit processor 920 may receive datafrom a data source.

The transmit processor 920 may process the data. The transmit processor920 may also generate reference symbols, and a cell-specific referencesignal. A transmit (TX) MIMO processor 930 may perform spatialprocessing (e.g., precoding) on data symbols, control symbols, and/orreference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streamsto the transmit modulators 932-a through 932-x. Each modulator 932 mayprocess a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) toobtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 932 may further process(e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the outputsample stream to obtain a downlink (DL) signal. In one example, DLsignals from modulators 932-a through 932-x may be transmitted via theantennas 934-a through 934-x, respectively. The transmitter processor920 may receive information from a processor 940. The processor 940 maybe coupled with a memory 942. The processor 940 may be configured togenerate flexible waveforms through altering a chip rate and/orutilizing a scaling factor. In some embodiments, the processor module940 may be configured for coordinating forward link blanking and/orpower boosting in normal and/or flexible bandwidth systems. For example,transmissions between mobile device 115-g and base station 105-f mayutilize bandwidth of a flexible waveform that may overlap with thebandwidth of a normal waveform. The processor 940 may coordinate forwardlink blanking and/or power boosting that may aid in reducing the impactof this interference.

At the mobile device 115-g, the mobile device antennas 952-a through952-n may receive the DL signals from the base station 105-f and mayprovide the received signals to the demodulators 954-a through 954-n,respectively. Each demodulator 954 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify,downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain inputsamples. Each demodulator 954 may further process the input samples(e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 956may obtain received symbols from all the demodulators 954-a through954-n, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, andprovide detected symbols. A receive processor 958 may process (e.g.,demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, providingdecoded data for the mobile device 115-g to a data output, and providedecoded control information to a processor 980, or memory 982.

On the uplink (UL) or reverse link, at the mobile device 115-g, atransmitter processor 964 may receive and process data from a datasource. The transmitter processor 964 may also generate referencesymbols for a reference signal. The symbols from the transmitterprocessor 964 may be precoded by a transmit MIMO processor 966 ifapplicable, further processed by the demodulators 954-a through 954-n(e.g., for SC-FDMA, etc.), and be transmitted to the base station 105-fin accordance with the transmission parameters received from the basestation 105-E The transmitter processor 964 may also be configured togenerate flexible waveforms through altering a chip rate and/orutilizing a scaling factor; this may be done dynamically in some cases.The transmit processor 964 may receive information from processor 980.The processor 980 may provide for different alignment and/or offsettingprocedures. The processor 980 may also utilize scaling and/or chip rateinformation to perform measurements on the other subsystems, performhandoffs to the other subsystems, perform reselection, etc. Theprocessor 980 may invert the effects of time stretching associated withthe use of flexible bandwidth through parameter scaling. At the basestation 105-f, the UL signals from the mobile device 115-g may bereceived by the antennas 934, processed by the demodulators 932,detected by a MIMO detector 936 if applicable, and further processed bya receive processor. The receive processor 938 may provide decoded datato a data output and to the processor 980. In some embodiments, theprocessor 980 may be implemented as part of a general processor, thetransmitter processor 964, and/or the receiver processor 958.

In some embodiments, the processor 980 may be configured to receivecoordinated forward link blanking and/or power boosting in normal and/orflexible bandwidth systems. For example, transmissions between mobiledevice 115-g and base station 105-f may utilize bandwidth of a flexiblewaveform that may overlap with the bandwidth of a normal waveform. Theprocessor 940 may be configured to receive coordinated forward linkblanking and/or power boosting that may aid in reducing the impact ofthis interference.

Turning to FIG. 10A, a flow diagram of a method 1000-a for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system in accordance withvarious embodiments. Method 1000-a may be implemented utilizing variouswireless communications devices including, but not limited to: a mobiledevice 115 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and/orFIG. 9; a base station 105 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8, orFIG. 9; a core network 130 or controller 120 as seen in FIG. 1 and/orFIG. 8; and/or a device 600 of FIG. 6.

At block 1005, a first carrier bandwidth and a second carrier bandwidthof the wireless communications system may be identified. The firstcarrier bandwidth may partially at least overlap the second carrierbandwidth. At block 1010, a transmission blanking on a forward link overthe first carrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth may be coordinated.

In some embodiments, the transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth may occur during a control channel transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth. A timing of the control channel transmissionover the second carrier bandwidth may be determined and coordinating thetransmission blanking may be based on the determined timing of thecontrol channel transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. In someembodiments, the transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidthmay occur during a data transmission over the second carrier bandwidth.Aspects of the data transmission over the second carrier bandwidth maybe determined, such as when the data transmission may occur and/or anamount data to be transmitted. The determined information may beutilized to coordinate the transmission blanking such that it occursduring the data transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. In someembodiments, the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward linkover the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission overthe second carrier bandwidths is changed based on at least a time of dayor a load of the forward link.

The transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth and theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier may be co-located. Thecoordinated transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth andthe concurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth may not beco-located. The coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth may occur at a pre-scheduled time. The transmission blankingover the first carrier bandwidth and the concurrent transmission overthe second carrier may be synchronized with respect to an absolute timeor known time offset.

In some embodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a first flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a second flexible bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth and thesecond carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidth. In some embodiments,the first carrier bandwidth is a first normal bandwidth and the secondcarrier bandwidth is a second normal bandwidth. In some embodiments, thefirst carrier bandwidth may fully overlap the second carrier bandwidth,such as when a flexible bandwidth carrier is fully overlapped by anormal carrier bandwidth.

In some embodiments, at least the first carrier bandwidth or the secondcarrier bandwidth utilizes licensed spectrum. In some embodiments, thefirst carrier bandwidth and the second carrier bandwidth utilizedifferent radio access technologies (RATs). For example, in oneembodiment, the first carrier bandwidth utilizes LTE, while the secondcarrier bandwidth utilizes EV-DO.

In some embodiments, the transmission blanking may include hardblanking. Hard blanking may include no flow being scheduled fortransmission during the period of transmission blanking. Thetransmission blanking may include soft blanking. Soft blanking mayinclude transmissions of at least a priority flow or a delay sensitiveflow during the period of transmission blanking. Soft blanking mayinclude reducing a power of transmission during the period oftransmission blanking. Coordinated soft transmission blanking mayinclude transmissions during a portion of the coordinated softtransmission blanking less than an entire period of the coordinated softtransmission blanking.

Some embodiments of method 1000-a may further include increasing a powerof transmission over the second carrier bandwidth during thetransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth. In someembodiments, the power increase and the transmission blanking areapplied independently. In some embodiments, the power increase and thetransmission blanking are applied together. In some embodiments, thepower increase and the transmission blanking are activated in co-locatedsystems. In some embodiments, the power increase and the transmissionblanking are activated in co-located systems based on the load of theco-located systems. The coordinated transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth may occur at a slot level. Some embodiments includeincreasing at least a data rate of at least a control channel or datachannel utilizing the power increase over the second carrier bandwidth.Some embodiments include increasing a power of transmission over thefirst carrier bandwidth during a period of time different than thecoordinated transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth.Coordinating the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth may occur during one or more slots when the first carrierbandwidth is not transmitting. In some embodiments, at leastcoordinating a transmission blanking on the forward link over the secondcarrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth or increasing the power of transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth during the coordinated transmission blanking on theforward link over the second carrier bandwidth depends at least upon arelative loading of the first carrier bandwidth with respect to thesecond carrier bandwidth or time of day.

Some embodiments of method 1000-a may further include at leastcoordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over the secondcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth or increasing a power of transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth during the transmission blanking over the secondcarrier bandwidth. At least coordinating the transmission blanking onthe forward link over the second carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the first carrier bandwidth, increasing the power oftransmission over the first carrier bandwidth during the transmissionblanking over the second carrier bandwidth, coordinating thetransmission blanking on the forward link over the second carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the first carrierbandwidth, or increasing the power of transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth during the transmission blanking over the secondcarrier bandwidth may change based on at least a time of day or aloading of at least one of the forward links.

Some embodiments may include identifying a third carrier bandwidthdifferent than the second carrier bandwidth that at least partiallyoverlaps the first carrier bandwidth of the wireless communicationssystem. A transmission blanking on the forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth may be coordinated with respect to a concurrenttransmission over the third carrier bandwidth. This use of a third ormore carrier bandwidths may be referred to as multi-carrier embodiments.These multi-carrier embodiments can be co-located or at a differentlocation. For example, if co-located, blanking may not be utilized forthe close by mobile device, while blanking may occur for a mobile devicefurther away. If service is needed for both the close and far awaymobile devices, the close mobile device may be placed on the smallercarrier bandwidth and blanked since it can take the lower signal toreduce the interference for the mobile device further away.

The transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth and theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier may not be co-located insome cases. The transmission blanking may occur at a pre-scheduled time.Some embodiments may further include receiving a request from the secondcarrier bandwidth to coordinate the transmission blanking at a specifictime. In some embodiments, the first carrier bandwidth system may agreeto accommodate the request from the second carrier bandwidth; in somecases, the first carrier bandwidth may send an acknowledgement oragreement message.

Method 1000-a may be implemented by a base station in some embodiments.In some embodiments, the wireless communications system includes a timedivision multiplexing system.

Turning to FIG. 10B, a flow diagram of a method 1000-b for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system in accordance withvarious embodiments. Method 1000-b may be implemented utilizing variouswireless communications devices including, but not limited to: a mobiledevice 115 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and/orFIG. 9; a base station 105 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8, orFIG. 9; a core network 130 or controller 120 as seen in FIG. 1 and/orFIG. 8; and/or a device 600 of FIG. 6. Method 1000-b may be an exampleof method 1000-a of FIG. 10A.

At block 1005-a, a normal carrier bandwidth and a flexible carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system may be identified. Thenormal carrier bandwidth may partially overlap the flexible carrierbandwidth. At block 1010-a, a transmission blanking on a forward linkover the normal carrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission overthe flexible carrier bandwidth may be coordinated. At block 1015, atransmission power over the flexible carrier bandwidth for theconcurrent transmission may be increased during the coordinatedtransmission blanking over the normal carrier bandwidth. At block 1020,the coordinated transmission blanking or the increased transmissionpower may be changed based on a time of day or a loading of the forwardlink.

Turning to FIG. 10C, a flow diagram of a method 1000-c for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system in accordance withvarious embodiments. Method 1000-c may be implemented utilizing variouswireless communications devices including, but not limited to: a mobiledevice 115 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and/orFIG. 9; a base station 105 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8, orFIG. 9; a core network 130 or controller 120 as seen in FIG. 1 and/orFIG. 8; and/or a device 600 of FIG. 6. Method 1000-c may be an exampleof method 1000-a of FIG. 10A and/or method 1000-b of FIG. 10B.

At block 1005-b, a normal carrier bandwidth and a flexible carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system may be identified. Thenormal carrier bandwidth may at least partially overlap the flexiblecarrier bandwidth. At block 1010-b, a transmission blanking on a forwardlink over the flexible carrier bandwidth during a concurrenttransmission over the normal carrier bandwidth may be coordinated. Insome embodiments, a transmission power over the normal carrier bandwidthfor the concurrent transmission may be increased during the coordinatedtransmission blanking over the flexible carrier bandwidth as shown inblock 1015.

Turning to FIG. 11A, a flow diagram of a method 1100-a for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system in accordance withvarious embodiments. Method 1100-a may be implemented utilizing variouswireless communications devices including, but not limited to: a mobiledevice 115 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and/orFIG. 9; a base station 105 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8,and/or FIG. 9; a core network 130 or controller 120 as seen in FIG. 1and/or FIG. 8; and/or a device 600 of FIG. 6.

At block 1105, a first carrier bandwidth and a second carrier bandwidthof the wireless communications system may be identified. The firstcarrier bandwidth may at least partially overlap the second carrierbandwidth. At block 1110, a transmission power increase for a forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth may be coordinated with respect tothe second carrier bandwidth. Some embodiments may further includecoordinating a transmission blanking over the second carrier bandwidthduring a concurrent transmission over the first carrier. The concurrenttransmission over the first carrier bandwidth may occur during thetransmission power increase. At least a time of day or a loading of theforward link may be determined in some cases; coordinating thetransmission power increase for the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth may change basedon at least the determined time of day or the determined loading of theforward link.

In some embodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a first flexible bandwidthand the second carrier bandwidth is a second flexible bandwidth. In someembodiments, the first carrier bandwidth is a normal bandwidth and thesecond carrier bandwidth is a flexible bandwidth. In some embodiments,the first carrier bandwidth is a first normal bandwidth and the secondcarrier bandwidth is a second normal bandwidth.

Some embodiments of method 1100-a may further include coordinating atransmission blanking over the second carrier bandwidth during aconcurrent transmission over the first carrier bandwidth. Someembodiments may further include coordinating a transmission blankingover the second carrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission overthe first carrier bandwidth.

The transmission power increase over the first carrier bandwidth and thesecond carrier may not be not co-located in some embodiments. Thetransmission power increase may occur at a pre-scheduled time in someembodiments. Some embodiments may further include receiving a request tocoordinate the transmission power increase at a specific time.

Some embodiments may include identifying a third carrier bandwidth andthe second carrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system wherethe second carrier bandwidth partially overlaps the third carrierbandwidth. A transmission power increase for a forward link over thethird carrier bandwidth may be coordinated with respect to the secondcarrier bandwidth.

Method 1100-a may be performed by a base station in some embodiments.

Turning to FIG. 11B, a flow diagram of a method 1100-b for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system in accordance withvarious embodiments. Method 1100-b may be implemented utilizing variouswireless communications devices including, but not limited to: a mobiledevice 115 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and/orFIG. 9; a base station 105 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8,and/or FIG. 9; a core network 130 or controller 120 as seen in FIG. 1and/or FIG. 8; and/or a device 600 of FIG. 6. Method 1100-b may be anexample of method 1100-a of FIG. 11A.

At block 1105-a, a flexible carrier bandwidth and a normal carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system may be identified. Theflexible carrier bandwidth may at least partially overlap the normalcarrier bandwidth. At block 1115, a request to coordinate a transmissionpower increase at a specific time may be received. At block 1110-a, thetransmission power increase for a forward link over the flexible carrierbandwidth may be coordinated with respect to the normal carrierbandwidth.

Turning to FIG. 11C, a flow diagram of a method 1100-c for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system in accordance withvarious embodiments. Method 1100-c may be implemented utilizing variouswireless communications devices including, but not limited to: a mobiledevice 115 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and/orFIG. 9; a base station 105 as seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 8,and/or FIG. 9; a core network 130 or controller 120 as seen in FIG. 1and/or FIG. 8; and/or a device 600 of FIG. 6. Method 1100-c may be anexample of method 1100-a of FIG. 11A and/or method 1100-b of FIG. 11B.

At block 1105-b, a flexible carrier bandwidth and a normal carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system may be identified. Theflexible carrier bandwidth may at least partially overlap the normalcarrier bandwidth. In some embodiments, a request to coordinate atransmission power increase at a specific time may be received as seenin block 1115-a. At block 1110-b, the transmission power increase for aforward link over the normal carrier bandwidth may be coordinated withrespect to the flexible carrier bandwidth.

The detailed description set forth above in connection with the appendeddrawings describes exemplary embodiments and does not represent the onlyembodiments that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “exemplary” used throughout this description means“serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred”or “advantageous over other embodiments.” The detailed descriptionincludes specific details for the purpose of providing an understandingof the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, well-known structuresand devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the described embodiments.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope and spirit of the disclosure and appended claims. For example,due to the nature of software, functions described above can beimplemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware,hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementingfunctions may also be physically located at various positions, includingbeing distributed such that portions of functions are implemented atdifferent physical locations. Also, as used herein, including in theclaims, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of”indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at leastone of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., Aand B and C).

Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be anyavailable medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation,computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code means in the form of instructions or data structures andthat can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer,or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connectionis properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if thesoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable aperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Throughout this disclosure the term “example” or“exemplary” indicates an example or instance and does not imply orrequire any preference for the noted example. Thus, the disclosure isnot to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is tobe accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of reducing interference within awireless communications system, the method comprising: identifying afirst carrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps a secondcarrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system; andcoordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:increasing a power of transmission over the second carrier bandwidthduring the coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein coordinating thetransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth further comprises: determining a timing of a controltransmission over the second carrier bandwidth and coordinating thetransmission blanking based on the determined timing of the controlchannel transmission over the second carrier bandwidth.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein coordinating the transmission blanking on the forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth further comprises: determining adata transmission over the second carrier bandwidth and whereincoordinating the transmission blanking on the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth occurs during the data transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:changing the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward link overthe first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidths based on at least a time of day.
 6. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: changing the coordinated transmissionblanking on the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidths based on atleast a loading of the forward link.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinat least the first carrier bandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth isa flexible carrier bandwidth.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst carrier bandwidth and the second carrier bandwidth are normalcarrier bandwidths.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first carrierbandwidth fully overlaps the second carrier bandwidth.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the coordinated transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth and the concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth occur at a co-location.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth and the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth are not co-located.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein thecoordinated transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidthoccurs at a pre-scheduled time.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein thecoordinated transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth andthe concurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth aresynchronized with respect to at least an absolute time or a known timeoffset.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein at least the first carrierbandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth utilizes licensed spectrum.15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first carrier bandwidth and thesecond carrier bandwidth utilize different radio access technologies(RAT).
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein coordinating the transmissionblanking on the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth comprises:coordinating a hard transmission blanking on the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein thecoordinated hard transmission blanking comprises no flow being scheduledfor transmission during a period of the coordinated hard transmissionblanking.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein coordinating thetransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth comprises: coordinating a soft transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein the coordinated soft transmission blanking comprises atransmission of at least a priority flow or a delay sensitive flowduring a period of the coordinated soft transmission blanking.
 20. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the coordinated soft transmission blankingcomprises reducing a power of transmission during a period of thecoordinated soft transmission blanking.
 21. The method of claim 18,wherein the coordinated soft transmission blanking comprises atransmission during a portion of the coordinated soft transmissionblanking less than an entire period of the coordinated soft transmissionblanking.
 22. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving arequest from the second carrier bandwidth to coordinate the transmissionblanking at a specific time; and agreeing to accommodate the requestfrom the second carrier bandwidth.
 23. The method of claim 1, whereinthe coordinated transmission blanking occurs at a base station.
 24. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications system comprisesa time division multiplexing system.
 25. The method of claim 2, whereinthe power increase over the second carrier bandwidth and the coordinatedtransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth are appliedindependently.
 26. The method of claim 2, wherein the power increaseover the second carrier bandwidth and the coordinated transmissionblanking over the first carrier bandwidth are applied together.
 27. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the power increase over the second carrierbandwidth and the coordinated transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth are activated in co-located systems.
 28. The method ofclaim 27, wherein the power increase over the second carrier bandwidthand the coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrierbandwidth are activated in co-located systems based on a load of theco-located systems.
 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the coordinatedtransmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth occurs at a slotlevel.
 30. The method of claim 2, further comprising: increasing atleast a data rate of at least a control channel or data channelutilizing the power increase over the second carrier bandwidth.
 31. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: increasing a power oftransmission over the first carrier bandwidth during a period of timedifferent than the coordinated transmission blanking over the firstcarrier bandwidth.
 32. The method of claim 1, further comprising,coordinating the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth during one or more slots when the first carrier bandwidth isnot transmitting.
 33. The method of claim 1, further comprising:coordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over the secondcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth or increasing a power of transmission over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a coordinated transmission blanking on aforward link over the second carrier bandwidth.
 34. The method of claim33, wherein coordinating the transmission blanking on the forward linkover the second carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmissionover the first carrier bandwidth depends at least upon a relativeloading of the first carrier bandwidth with respect to the secondcarrier bandwidth or a time of day.
 35. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: coordinating a power transmission increase over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a coordinated transmission blanking on aforward link over the second carrier bandwidth.
 36. The method of claim1, further comprising: identifying a third carrier bandwidth differentfrom the second carrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps thefirst carrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system; andcoordinating a transmission blanking on the forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the thirdcarrier bandwidth.
 37. A wireless communications system configured forreducing interference, the system comprising a means for identifying afirst carrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps a secondcarrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system; and a means forcoordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth.
 38. The system of claim 37, further comprising: ameans for coordinating the transmission blanking on the forward linkover the first carrier bandwidth during a control channel transmissionover the second carrier bandwidth.
 39. The system of claim 37, furthercomprising: a means for changing the coordinated transmission blankingon the forward link over the first carrier bandwidth during theconcurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth based on atleast a time of day or a loading of the forward link.
 40. The system ofclaim 37, wherein at least the first carrier bandwidth or the secondcarrier bandwidth is a flexible carrier bandwidth.
 41. The system ofclaim 37, further comprising: a means for coordinating a hardtransmission blanking as the coordinated transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth.
 42. The system of claim37, further comprising: a means for coordinating a soft transmissionblanking as the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward linkover the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission overthe second carrier bandwidth.
 43. The system of claim 37, furthercomprising: a means for increasing a transmission power over the secondcarrier bandwidth during the coordinated transmission blanking over thefirst carrier bandwidth.
 44. A computer program product for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system comprising: anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising: code for identifyinga first carrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps a secondcarrier bandwidth of the wireless communications system; and code forcoordinating a transmission blanking on a forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during a concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth.
 45. The computer program product of claim 44, whereinthe non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising: code forcoordinating the transmission blanking on the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth during a control channel transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth.
 46. The computer program product of claim 44,wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising:code for changing the coordinated transmission blanking on the forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmissionover the second carrier bandwidth based on at least a time of day or aloading of the forward link.
 47. The computer program product of claim44, wherein at least the first carrier bandwidth or the second carrierbandwidth is a flexible carrier bandwidth.
 48. The computer programproduct of claim 44, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable mediumfurther comprising: code for coordinating a hard transmission blankingas the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over thesecond carrier bandwidth.
 49. The computer program product of claim 44,wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising:code for coordinating a soft transmission blanking as the coordinatedtransmission blanking on the forward link over the first carrierbandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the second carrierbandwidth.
 50. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein thenon-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising: code forincreasing a transmission power over the second carrier bandwidth duringthe coordinated transmission blanking over the first carrier bandwidth.51. A wireless communications device configured for reducinginterference within a wireless communications system, the devicecomprising: at least one processor configured to: identify a firstcarrier bandwidth that at least partially overlaps a second carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system; and coordinate atransmission blanking on a forward link over the first carrier bandwidthduring a concurrent transmission over the second carrier bandwidth. 52.The device of claim 51, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: coordinate the transmission blanking on the forward linkover the first carrier bandwidth during a control channel transmissionover the second carrier bandwidth.
 53. The device of claim 51, whereinthe at least one processor is further configured to: change thecoordinated transmission blanking on the forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission over the secondcarrier bandwidth based on at least a time of day or a loading of theforward link.
 54. The device of claim 51, wherein at least the firstcarrier bandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrierbandwidth.
 55. The device of claim 51, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: coordinate a hard transmissionblanking as the coordinated transmission blanking on the forward linkover the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrent transmission overthe second carrier bandwidth.
 56. The device of claim 51, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: coordinate a softtransmission blanking as the coordinated transmission blanking on theforward link over the first carrier bandwidth during the concurrenttransmission over the second carrier bandwidth.
 57. A method of reducinginterference within a wireless communications system, the methodcomprising: identifying a first carrier bandwidth and a second carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system, wherein the firstcarrier bandwidth at least partially overlaps the second carrierbandwidth; and coordinating a transmission power increase for a forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrierbandwidth.
 58. The method of claim 57, further comprising: determiningat least a time of day or a loading of the forward link and coordinatingthe transmission power increase for the forward link over the firstcarrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth changesbased on at least the determined time of day or the determined loadingof the forward link.
 59. The method of claim 57, further comprising:receiving a request to coordinate the transmission power increase at aspecific time.
 60. The method of claim 57, further comprising:coordinating a transmission blanking over the second carrier bandwidthduring the coordinated transmission power increase over the firstcarrier bandwidth.
 61. The method of claim 57, wherein at least thefirst carrier bandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth is a flexiblecarrier bandwidth.
 62. The method of claim 57, wherein coordinating thetransmission power increase occurs at a pre-scheduled time.
 63. Themethod of claim 57, wherein coordinating the transmission power increaseoccurs at a base station.
 64. The method of claim 57, furthercomprising: identifying a third carrier bandwidth and the second carrierbandwidth of the wireless communications system, wherein the secondcarrier bandwidth partially overlaps the third carrier bandwidth; andcoordinating a transmission power increase for a forward link over thethird carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth.65. A wireless communications system configured for reducinginterference, the system comprising: a means for identifying a firstcarrier bandwidth and a second carrier bandwidth of the wirelesscommunications system, wherein the first carrier bandwidth at leastpartially overlaps the second carrier bandwidth; and a means forcoordinating a transmission power increase for a forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth.66. The system of claim 65, further comprising: a means for changing thecoordinated transmission power increase for the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidthbased on at least a time of day or a loading of the forward link. 67.The system of claim 65, wherein at least the first carrier bandwidth orthe second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrier bandwidth.
 68. Thesystem of claim 65, further comprising: a means for coordinating atransmission blanking over the second carrier bandwidth during thecoordinated transmission power increase over the first carrierbandwidth.
 69. The system of claim 65, further comprising: a means forreceiving a request to coordinate the transmission power increase at aspecific time.
 70. A computer program product for reducing interferencewithin a wireless communications system comprising: a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising: code for identifying a firstcarrier bandwidth and a second carrier bandwidth of the wirelesscommunications system, wherein the first carrier bandwidth at leastpartially overlaps the second carrier bandwidth; and code forcoordinating a transmission power increase for a forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth.71. The computer program product of claim 70, wherein the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium further comprising: code for changing thecoordinated transmission power increase for the forward link over thefirst carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidthbased on at least a time of day or a loading of the forward link. 72.The computer program product of claim 70, wherein at least the firstcarrier bandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrierbandwidth.
 73. A wireless communications device configured for reducinginterference, the device comprising: at least one processor configuredto: identify a first carrier bandwidth and a second carrier bandwidth ofthe wireless communications system, wherein the first carrier bandwidthat least partially overlaps the second carrier bandwidth; and coordinatea transmission power increase for a forward link over the first carrierbandwidth with respect to the second carrier bandwidth.
 74. The deviceof claim 73, wherein the at least one processor is further configuredto: change the coordinated transmission power increase for the forwardlink over the first carrier bandwidth with respect to the second carrierbandwidth based on at least a time of day or a loading of the forwardlink.
 75. The device of claim 73, wherein at least the first carrierbandwidth or the second carrier bandwidth is a flexible carrierbandwidth.
 76. The device of claim 73, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: coordinate a transmission blankingover the second carrier bandwidth during the coordinated transmissionpower increase over the first carrier bandwidth.
 77. The device of claim73, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receivea request to coordinate the transmission power increase at a specifictime.